TV7 Refresh Take Two

[ADevilishPotato]

The desire to update a fresh rotation of maps isn't just about keeping butts on the server though. Its about breaking from the mundane for those who frequent the server. The rotation has been the same for over a year with the exception of a minor change. It can get boring for many who've played their routinely over the year. Yeah the community here might be a small % of those who come to TV7.....but they are the percent that always comes back. They are the percent that pays to support theville. They are the percent who'll spend hours trying to seed and get people to join. They'll be the ones sending out invites to get other regulars and friends to join the server. They'll be the ones on the server whether the map is dustbowl, granary, or snakewater. They are the most sustainable types who will be there cheering on the ville legacy and servers regardless of the circumstance. Randoms might pop on for a bit and leave....whether they don't like the map or because their team is being pounded. They come and they go, and not much will keep em through long stretches. So new maps might not make the server population explode, but the simple coat of fresh paint goes a long way to keeping happy those who invest their time, $$, and love for theville to keep the servers going with life in them.

Hear Hear!

[Plinko]

I hear you, but the fact is that there isn't really a lot to do at this point. I feel pretty confident that now that process and snakewater are official, we likely won't see many/any more balanced/symmetrical maps added again. We may see the occasional asymmetrical/novelty added, but it's taking forever for cactus canyon and asteroid to go through their beta development, and from what I've played they may never be enjoyable maps to play and make it into a popular rotation.

People like the maps they like and what we can run that attract and keep a population are only going to get more narrow with time, not less. People who want novelty quit TF2 four years ago.

I like class limits, heck I love them. But they don't make a server more popular, they make it less so. If you think we see rolls or unbalanced teams, try playing on a QP enabled server where one team has four sinpers and five spies.
Yet, most server communities that passed on QP are utterly dead.

[LonelyTentacle]

I hear you, but the fact is that there isn't really a lot to do at this point. I feel pretty confident that now that process and snakewater are official, we likely won't see many/any more balanced/symmetrical maps added again. We may see the occasional asymmetrical/novelty added, but it's taking forever for cactus canyon and asteroid to go through their beta development, and from what I've played they may never be enjoyable maps to play and make it into a popular rotation.

People like the maps they like and what we can run that attract and keep a population are only going to get more narrow with time, not less. People who want novelty quit TF2 four years ago.

I like class limits, heck I love them. But they don't make a server more popular, they make it less so. If you think we see rolls or unbalanced teams, try playing on a QP enabled server where one team has four sinpers and five spies.
Yet, most server communities that passed on QP are utterly dead.

Its more for play balancing sakes than anything else. Its just a lot better to encourage players to play more useful classes then half the team sitting in the back as a sniper while getting 3 kills in a 30 minute game. TV6 uses a 2 sniper/spy limit just fine. TV7 could be blessed with the same!

[kkpyro]

Maybe the rotation should be voted on every couple months for map changes. Seems like people are eager to see it be freshened up more frequently. Perhaps a core of tried and true with a few map slots that get voted every month or two.

I agree 100%.

koth flake was well liked in Sunday Night Maps, we could look at that for a koth map.

I love Turbine, can we consider it? I know its a grind sometimes, but it's fun.

Some other favorites from SNM include:
avanitville
lazytown
well
egypt


Pipeline is a fun PL map (race) as well.

[Snidely Whiplash]

I like Gravelpit, also alternate dustbowl as every other map.

[Garrett]

Is Fastlane in the rotation? I'd like to see that come back if it's not. Freight too. I would also love to see Coldfront return; it's my favorite 5cp map. However, I recall someone mentioning in the last TV7 refresh thread that it's poorly optimized so some people can't play it.

Also, I don't recall Gorge clearing out the server when it was still around. It was always the map before or after it (can't remember) that did it. Think it was Badlands.

I think KOTH could work as long as it was a good map. I feel things like Nucleus, Kong King, and Harvest would definitely empty out the server's more "hardcore" players. Lakeside and Viaduct are good in my opinion.

To be honest, I haven't played regularly on TV7 in about a year because I didn't like enough of the maps. Thunder Mountain, Snakewater, Process, Gullywash, and Gold Rush are all duds in my opinion but I know the payload maps keep the server full. Maybe we could have some mainstays like Badwater and Dustbowl and then rotate the 5cp and CTF maps every two or three months? There are a ton of 5cp maps to rotate around and you could switch out CTFs with KOTHs for variety while still keeping the same map count .

[Plinko]

I believe it was the cp_gorge which is the A/D version that we had, not cp_5gorge which is the push version.

Coldfront is poorly optimized, I'm not sure if it's truly unplayable for many folks anymore as much as some of them take big hits to their framerates due to some of the long sightlines and the way the snow is used.
There are some optimized custom versions out there, but they're custom and it's really, really hard to keep a population if one is in there, sadly.

[jettah]

I will once again insert my 2 cents into the TV7 Machine.

In my personal experience large spread out 5CP maps kill the server faster than anything else. Any map where say a 3-scout rush to the mid throws the balance of the game way off from the opening bell (which usually happens when the server only has about 12 people completely connected).

That being said, I personally like those maps, and pretty much any map really. I would love to see Turbine make a return whether in pro or normal form. When the ville is empty in the wee hours of the morning and I have 30 minutes free to get some fragging done, there is a particular 24/7 turbine map that is nearly always full.

I agree with lots of what everyone has already said. I love gravelpit, but it seems to be one of those original maps that new players to the game don't have the exposure to and don't like. A fall-themed map would be a good addition as this is fall. As long as we are talking about TV7 I am happy. This means that people care about the beloved server that I have called my TF2 home for the last 6 years, and want to keep it around. Small changes don't disturb the masses as much.

I will keep playing regardless of the maps, just think about what will keep the server full and keep the ragequits to a minimum.

Also my video card took a nosedive, it crashes only with graphic intense games at first, now has spread to every game. I should be back at it soon. And borderlands 2 has proved very fun recently. See you all soon on tv7, or 6 if 7 is empty.

--jettah

[Stevo]

Removed:
cp_process_final
cp_badlands
cp_granary

Added:
ctf_turbine
cp_gravelpit
koth_harvest_final

Good luck!

[belak]

Thanks Stevo! And thanks to everyone who expressed support!

[Rumps]

Thanks Stevo! And thanks to everyone who expressed support!

[The Domer]

Ask and you shall receive!

[LonelyTentacle]

Removed:
cp_process_final
cp_badlands
cp_granary

Added:
ctf_turbine
cp_gravelpit
koth_harvest_final

Good luck!

Thank you stevo, you are a man of the people. Some day I'll make you a pumpkin pie shaped in the head of belak!!

[M's]

Ask and you shall receive!

Can you loan me 1,000,000.00 USD

[Rigo]

Kudos on the map rotation , tv7 was running a little bit too stale lately...

Games last night were a blast!